Los Angeles Kings: Smarter, Better, More Disciplined Play Needed From Ethan Moreau

Los Angeles Kings veteran left wing Ethan Moreau has been
noticeable for all the wrong reasons lately.
Photo: David Sheehan

EL SEGUNDO, CA — When the Los Angeles Kings signed rugged, checking winger Ethan Moreau to a one-year, unrestricted free agent contract on August 20, 2011, the expectation was that he would bring energy, physical play, solid forechecking and strong defensive play to the Kings’ third and fourth lines.

The 36-year-old, 6-3, 223-pound native of Huntsville, Ontario, a former captain of the Edmonton Oilers, also brings veteran leadership, and years of National Hockey League experience.

But so far this season, Moreau has played well in spurts, but has not given the Kings anywhere near enough of what is needed or expected.

“His role is basically to be that fourth line left winger—grit, size, experience, and to give us that harder game, and that’s been there…in and out,” said head coach Terry Murray. “But there’s been times that it’s been very good, and I think, in the last couple of games, I’ve seen more of it [from him while playing with right wing Kevin] Westgarth and [center Colin] Fraser, and that’s stuff that we need.” Read more of this post

Frozen Royalty Audio: LA Kings Tame The Wild, 5-2; Jim Fox Honored During Second Intermission – Video

LOS ANGELES — Five different players scored goals in the first and second periods to lead the Los Angeles Kings to an easy 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,118 fans at Staples Center on November 12.

Colin Fraser opened the scoring at 2:49 of the first period, netting his first goal of the season, and his first ever with the Kings. The game was scoreless for the remainder of the period, but the Kings exploded for four goals in the second period by Alec Martinez, Dustin Brown, Simon Gagne and Matt Greene, giving the Kings a 5-0 lead heading into the third period. Read more of this post

Los Angeles Kings Defenseman Prospect Jake Muzzin Likely To Be Waiting Awhile For His Turn

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Last season, defenseman prospect Jake Muzzin came out of nowhere to make the Los Angeles Kings’ 2010-11 opening night roster, despite having playing in just one regular season game and 13 playoff games at the American Hockey League level in 2009-10.

Defenseman prospect Jake Muzzin speaks to
the media during the Los Angeles Kings
2011 Development Camp at the
Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California,
July 11-12, 2011.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

Prior to that, the 6-3, 213-pound native of Woodstock, Ontario was a standout with the Sault Ste. Marie (Soo) Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for four seasons, scoring 15 goals and adding 52 assists for 67 points in 64 games with 76 penalty minutes.

That was when he caught the eyes of the Kings scouts. The result: the Kings signed him as an unrestricted free agent on January 4, 2010, to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Muzzin was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fifth round (141st overall) in the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft, but had surgery to repair two herniated discs in 2005, and played sparingly in 2006-07—just 37 games.

Not wanting to take a risk on a young player who already had major back problems, the Penguins did not sign Muzzin to a contract, nor was he selected in the draft by another NHL team. Accordingly, he became an unrestricted free agent during the 2010 off-season. Read more of this post

2010-11 Los Angeles Kings Year-In-Review: Defense And Goaltending Was Their Strength

2010-11 YEAR IN REVIEW: Part 2 of a series.


LOS ANGELES — Although their offense left much to be desired during the 2010-11 season, the Los Angeles Kings were one of the best defensive teams in the league.

After being a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy last season, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was not bad in 2010-11. Nevertheless, after such a solid 2009-10 season, his play this
season was still a major disappointment.
Photo: David Sheehan

Solid goaltending from Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Bernier, strong play on the blue line by their defensemen most of the time, and contributions by the forwards to the defensive effort combined to put in the Kings among the top ten defensive teams in the National Hockey League, ranking sixth, allowing an average of 2.39 goals per game.

Indeed, defense is a team effort, but in Part 2 of Frozen Royalty’s look back at the players, coaches and front office during the 2010-11 season, it’s time to focus on the defensemen and goaltenders.

LEGEND: GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; P = Points; PIM = Penalties In Minutes; PP = Power Play Goals; SH = Shorthanded Goals; GW = Game Winning Goals; OT = Overtime Goals; S = Shots; TOI = Time On Ice/Game; SFT = Shifts/Game; FO% = Face-Off Winning Percentage

Jack Johnson

2010-11 Regular Season: 82 GP, 5 G, 37 A, 42 P, -21, 44 PIM, 3 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW, 0 OT, 153 S, 23:11 TOI, 25.9 SFT

2009-10 Regular Season: 80 GP, 8 G, 28 A, 36 P, -15, 48 PIM, 3 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW, 0 OT, 130 S, 22:36 TOI, 24.4 SFT

2010-11 Playoffs: 6 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 P, -2, 0 PIM, 1 PP, 0 SH, 1 GW, 0 OT, 16 S, 22:48 TOI, 28.5 SFT

2009-10 Playoffs: 6 GP, 0 G, 7 A, 7 P, -5, 6 PIM, 0 PP, 0 SH, 0 GW, 0 OT, 15 S, 23:41 TOI, 25.5 SFT

Jack Johnson got off to a solid start this season, taking up the slack from Drew Doughty (see below) during the early going. His skating and puck-handling abilities shined through often, even though he was never the key guy you wanted on the ice in key defensive situations, as his team-worst -21 rating indicates. Read more of this post

Frozen Royalty Audio and NHL Video: LA Kings Dominate, But End Up Escaping With 4-3 Win Over Colorado

LOS ANGELES — After dominating the first fifty minutes of their matinee contest against the Colorado Avalanche at Staples Center in Los Angeles on February 26, scoring four times, the Los Angeles Kings let down in a big way and came within a hair of coughing up their four-goal lead. Read more of this post

Gann Matsuda On The Hockey Writers: Young Defenseman Alec Martinez A Surprise With LA Kings

LA Kings defenseman Alec Martinez has moved up from the AHL to become
a fixture on the Kings’ blue line.
Photo: David Sheehan

EL SEGUNDO, CA — So far this season, the Los Angeles Kings have been a surprise, but mostly for the wrong reasons.

Indeed, the Kings were expected to be among the top teams in the Western Conference. But after a stretch in November when they lost seven out of eight games, and an even more brutal stretch from late December through most of January when they lost ten out of twelve games, the Kings are struggling just to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot in the hyper-competitive Western Conference, even though they are 5-0-1 in their last six games, and 6-3-1 in their last ten.

Perhaps as big a surprise has been the play of young defenseman Alec Martinez, 23, who not only failed to make the Kings roster out of training camp, but was also a big question mark in terms of ever making the jump to the National Hockey League level. Read more of this post

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